Aircraft manufacturers continually strive to find ways that will improve aircraft efficiency and reduce the costs that are associated with the manufacture and maintenance of aircraft. One consideration that is frequently taken to improve aircraft efficiency is to reduce the weight of the craft. In many fields, composite materials have been used in place of heavier traditional materials for this purpose. Accordingly, the use of composite materials for the manufacture of structural components has expanded considerably over the past years. In particular, composite materials that are made of carbon fibers and epoxy resins have been successfully used for the manufacture of various types of vehicles (e.g. cars, boats and airplanes). In part, this has happened because these materials are relatively light-weight, and they exhibit high strength in both tension and compression. They are also quite damage tolerant and resistant to puncture. Further, they inhibit water migration. However, conventional methods for manufacturing aircraft components with composite materials typically require relatively expensive tooling and labor-intensive assembly procedures. Frequently, an aircraft component is assembled from composite segments cured on separate caul sheets.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and device for manufacturing a caul sheet for use in creating a unitary airplane fuselage that is to be made from composite materials. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a substantially tubular caul sheet. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a caul sheet that is relatively simple and easy to implement and that is comparatively cost effective.